We continued our journey, cruising south from the Canary Islands (The Daily Bucket: Volcanoes and Cloud Forests in the Canary Islands) to the Cape Verde Islands.
The Republic of Cabo Verde is an archipelago and island country in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi).[9] These islands lie between 600 and 850 kilometres (320 and 460 nautical miles) west of Cap-Vert, the westernmost point of continental Africa. The Cape Verde islands form part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Savage Isles.
THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
Cape Verde was uninhabited by humans until it was claimed on behalf of Prince Henry the Navigator around 1460 AD. The archipelago has a historic role in the slave trade and piracy; and was a Portuguese colony until independence in 1975. Cape Verde is a birthplace of Creole culture. Black and White Make Brown by Archibald Lyall is an excellent and entertaining, albeit politically incorrect, book on Cape Verdean history. It was written in the 1930s. It’s available as an ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Wikipedia has a good entry on the Wildlife of Cape Verde. The islands remind me of the Galapagos: volcanic in origin, geographically isolated, and untouched by humans until the Age of Discovery. The only indigenous mammal on the islands is the Grey Long-eared Bat. There are no snakes. A couple of good botanical sources include Plants of Cape Verde and Endemic Plants.
The island is 29.7 km long and 11.8 km wide.[2]: 25 Its area is 219.84 km2 (84.88 sq mi).[3] It is one of the three sandy eastern islands (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) of the archipelago, with white sandy beaches. The island is fairly flat; its highest point is Monte Grande, at 406 m elevation.[2]: 25 The uninhabited islet Ilhéu Rabo de Junco lies near the west coast of Sal. Saline marshes can be found in the Pedra de Lume crater and north of Santa Maria.
Sal is being developed for tourism, aimed at Europeans. It’s hot and sunny. We had the option of visiting the tourist town, Santa Maria; or the historic Salinas (salt works). We choose the salt works, a Cape Verdean National Heritage Site.
The crater – where the salt pans are situated – has a radius of no less than 900 meters. The crater is an old extinct volcano. The highest point of the crater (the edge) is 39 meters above sea level, while the lowest point is far below sea level. The base of the crater is therefore the lowest point of the Cape Verde islands. The salt lake has formed naturally in the crater by infiltration of water from the nearby ocean. The salt lake is divided into salt pans (basins), so that the sun can easily evaporate the water. Eventually the natural product salt remains. Because of the natural conditions the water is 27 times (!) saltier than seawater. If you are going to swim, you will automatically stay afloat.
I can attest that you’ll float, it was almost impossible to stay standing up. I can’t remember if that means I’m a witch or not.
Santo Antão is 42.75 km (26.56 mi) long (east-west) and 23.97 km (14.89 mi) wide (north-south).[1]: 25 The island is of volcanic origin and very mountainous, characterized by two high plateaus and several steep river valleys. The southern part of the island has a desert climate, while the northeast and the higher elevations are semi-arid.
São Vicente has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh). The average annual temperature in Mindelo is 23.6 °C (74.5 °F). The island is very dry with only 127 mm (5 in) annual precipitation in Mindelo. Only the higher area of Monte Verde receives more precipitation.[4]
Although we were originally going to spend just one day on Sao Vicente, we ended up staying two days because rough seas prevented us from visiting Sao Nicolau. Our first day on Sao Vicente was spent exploring the old colonial capital of Mindelo. While having breakfast on the back deck of the ship, we saw an Osprey plummet into the bay and emerge with a fish. It was our Naturalist’s birthday, and he said that was the best birthday present ever.
The second day we ventured out into the desolate landscape of Sao Vicente.
Western Hemisphere-bound hurricanes often have their early beginnings near the Cape Verde Islands. These are referred to as Cape Verde-type hurricanes. These hurricanes can become very intense as they cross warm Atlantic waters away from Cape Verde. The average hurricane season has about two Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which are usually the largest and most intense storms of the season because they often have plenty of warm open ocean over which to develop before encountering land. The five largest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record have been Cape Verde-type hurricanes. Most of the longest-lived tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin are Cape Verde hurricanes.
Our last stop on our exploration of Sao Vicente was a very small wildlife rehabilitation center.
On the way to Santiago we observed a pod of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins. The video length is 1:38. but the best part is between about 0:30 to 0:35.
Santiago is the largest island of Cape Verde, with an area of 991 square kilometres (383 square miles). It is 54.9 km long and 28.8 km wide.[1]: 25 The island is mountainous, although slightly flatter in the southeast. The interior and the east coast are seasonally, and somewhat sporadically, hot tropical in climate and forested, whereas the south and southwest occupy the central uplands' arid rain shadow.
The Cape Verde islands are very naturally degraded. Due to their proximity to the Sahara, most are dry, but on those with high mountains and farther away from the continent, by orography (relief precipitation), the humidity is much higher, giving small upland rainforest habitats, but strongly affected by human presence. Northeastern slopes of high mountains receive heavy rain several times most years. Much of the altitude is sufficient for a mild climate and subject-to-seasonal-drought but typically moist soil. Some islands, as on Santiago, have vegetation-clad (cloud forests) where the dense moisture condenses and soaks the plants, and soil.
A dry-country kingfisher of scrub and woodland, solitary or in pairs, often found near water, but unlike most kingfishers is not aquatic. Perches on a branch, unmoving for long periods while watching the ground for signs of insects or small lizards, bobbing head before diving on prey.
I enjoy trying local drinks and food wherever I travel. Here are some snacks in one of the airport shops. Bissau Rouge are dried Hibiscus flowers. I’ve eaten Baobob fruit before — it’s like eating styrofoam. So I passed on these snacks.
The Cape Verde Islands were fascinating. I focused on the natural features for this diary, but the cultural aspects of this trip were equally captivating.
It’s 37f in SW Michigan this morning, and should stay about the same temperature all day (average for this time of year). All the snow from earlier this week has melted.
Now it’s your turn! What’s happening in your backyard?
Any observations from travels near or far?